Reviews
-
OK, this was a bit of cheat. I wanted to read something short to help meet the 100 books goal. So I found a little book called Philaster by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. I’ve had this for about fifteen years (it was my grandparents’ originally) and never read it. The edition I have was…
-
I was looking forward to reading Edge by Thomas Blackthorne. I liked the blurb (which you can see in the picture). It sounded like it was going to be an ultra-violent Running Man fun type of silliness. Predators in book form. But that’s not what it was. Bad Angry Robot. That’s the second time I’ve…
-
Book club is off with a bang this year. January’s choice was Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (trans: Micheal Hofmann) and I loved it from the from start to finish. Otto, an ordinary German living in a shabby apartment block, tries to stay out of trouble under Nazi rule. But when he discovers his only…
-
Book number 1 in the 100 books in 2011 challenge is Grass by Sherri Tepper. It’s number 48 on the SF Masterworks list. The blurb says: Generations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. But before humanity arrived, another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It too had developed a culture……
-
This week I’ve been reading lots and may actually have had a breakthrough on the work-in-progress. Self-editing for Fiction Writers, Rennie Browne and Dave King. This was a really useful book and the sections on inner monologue, sophistication and voice were illuminating. I think in an effort to avoid expository lumps and explaining dialogue or…
-
Issue 4 of Crossed Genres mixes scifi/fantasy with crime. I was looking forward to this as I’ve been known to dabble in the fantasy thriller. The first story is amazing. The Near-Sighted Sentinel by Adam King is the tale of a superhero dealing with ageing and failure. The Sentinel has to face loss of status…
-
Hub again. I’m a little behind, but only by a week now. Issue 89 provides Storm CHASER by Craig Pirrall. I liked this. Love the idea of a storm in a bottle and I’d have coughed up the forty bucks. The characters are very vivid for such a short piece. Again, I was disappointed that…
-
It’s the Tuesday post! Today, I’m going to review Hub. A nice short story to read and ponder while I eat my sandwich. The story in Issue 88 is Red Rover, Red Rover by Janet Loftis. This is fantastic. Children, horror and excellent writing. It is really quite creepy and that sandwich is not settling…
-
I haven’t reviewed Electric Spec before. I first heard of them via the first page contest they were holding on their blog. The editors’ comments on the work submitted to them were very thoughtful and interesting. They publish quarterly and are a paying market. The first issue of this year came out on February 28.…
-
I just watched the first episode of Being Human. Wow. It’s amazing. The writing and acting is really very good. After the appalling sub-Buffy mess of Demons and the fun-but-a-bit-rubbish Primeval, this was wonderful. Such a joy to watch something this good. The comedy was funny – I laughed out loud – and the drama…
Boudica Marginalia 